TravelMole Q&A with Roberto da Re, Dolphin Dynamics

Q) What do you see happening in the industry this year in terms of technology and new media?

A) After a period of euphoria in 2007 with regards to social networking sites, the industry has somehow lowered its initial expectations with regards to how much this phenomenon can actually be translated into new business. Together with the experience gained over the past few years experimenting with new technology, especially in the online space, I can see the initial signs of a renewed focus on some of the more fundamental technology requirements of a company, a single platform that can form the backbone of a business and deliver efficiencies throughout the business and not only to the online channel. In 2008 we will see increased investment in the reservation management areas rather than the web booking engine area.

Q) You have just been to the ABTA Travel Convention – what has been the buzz in terms of technology?

A) There has been a lot of talk about multi-channel distribution and the fact that companies have to be able to interact with customers in a number of ways depending on the preference of the customer and the type of product that they want to buy and when they want to buy – e.g. online for a short break or with an agent for the annual family holiday. Technology is the great enabler for this as companies need a single platform that can be used across all channels in order to provide consistency in the product and service offered and economies of scale for the companies that use it.

Q) Dolphin has just announced its move into the tour operator technology market – what has prompted that move?

A) Our move is part of a general progression and expansion of our product portfolio. While we have been servicing the tailor made tour operator market for a number of years, we did not offer our own “contract and allocation management” module but instead focused on providing dynamic links with product suppliers and integrate into 3rd party fare systems into our existing booking fulfillment system. As part of our continued market expansion adding a “contract and allocation” management system was the logical step to take in order to deliver our customers the best possible integrated platform and enlarge our market reach to the tour operator sector.

Q) What is your view on social media/networking and how will it impact the travel industry?

A) My view is that user generated content in the form of product and destination reviews is something that is extremely important for companies in the travel sector to encourage creation of, while also monitoring it, to learn from customer feedback and intervene to represent and protect the brand if necessary. A statistic published at the ABTA conference revealed that for 73% of holidaymakers, the opinion of friends and family is still the main influencing factor when choosing a holiday and I think social sites fall within this category. In terms of actual selling and advertising however, my view is that social sites present limited value for companies because fundamentally people are on those sites to interact with others, not to search for products or information about a specific topic (like on Google). This is the reason why social sites are still struggling to turn traffic into real revenue.

Q) Dolphin has also unveiled carbon emissions tool – how seriously do you think the industry needs to take the environmental issue?

A) It needs to be taken very seriously because the travelling public and governments worldwide take it seriously. In the corporate travel world, carbon reduction and offsetting is already influencing travel spending decisions and is now becoming part of corporate travel company policy when booking travel. Unless the travel industry is seen to take a proactive role in tackling its own carbon emission, governments might decide to intervene with their own policies and we all know what those normally look like.

by Linda Fox